1911 Magazines

[Pandaz3]

I looked for a thread that discusses the merits of various makes of magazines for a 1911. I was surprised that there were none, at least none dedicated to the subject. I realize that a Double stack such as those used by Para and STI might be best served using those particular makes. But single stack Colts, Rugers, Rock Island, Remington, Sig's , Springfield's, Les Baer's, Wilson's, Taurus and all the rest that use single stack magazines. Spare or replacement magazines, what works well, what doesn't? I know there are many who make them, like Mecgar, Chip McCormick, Wilson and more. Are they all equal? should you just buy the cheapest or most expensive? I think 100% functionality would be a priority of course, but isn't that what they all claim?

In the replacement market what do you like?

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[deadeye]

Buy a handful of factory for the pistol you have for defense/carrying and the rest can be what you can find cheaper for range use. I have all the brands that you listed along with several more and have never had an issue.

The only thing to look out for is that all the mags you plan to carry have the same capacity.

 

[BAMCIS]

Buy a handful of factory for the pistol you have for defense/carrying and the rest can be what you can find cheaper for range use. I have all the brands that you listed along with several more and have never had an issue.

The only thing to look out for is that all the mags you plan to carry have the same capacity.

Yeah that. ^^^^ I'm kinda in the same boat.

None the plethora of mags I have give me any issues in any of my guns. However, the slide on my Colt Rail Gun doesn't seem to like to stay open on the last round in (ironically) Ed Brown mags. I haven't had the ambition to find out why. Other than that I notice next to no difference.

 

[techieguy]

On the 1911 forums this is always brought up... Like this thread So what magazined do I get? - 1911Forum Personally I lean towards what works in my pistols. CMC mags have always worked in all my 1911 that I have owned and I have tried Wilson Combats 47D with success and Kimber mags worked well for me.

 

[Pandaz3]

Okay I just ordered a couple of CMC Powermags +, 8 rounders.

 

[Diamondback]

There is ONE exception I make to "all same cap"--my starting mag is 7, plus the one in the pipe, and all after that are eight, so I'm maintaining a consistent number of rounds available per load.

I also try to keep it so that my 7's are all blued, parkerized or otherwise "black/dark color", and my 8's are all stainless, so I have that bit of color-coding at a glance.

 

[orygun]

I have many brands. (Colt, Colt copies, Novak, Dan Wesson, Ruger and Chip McCormick Shooting Star) The only ones that have ever given me any trouble are the Chip McCormick Shooting Star mags.
On an open slide reload I've had them cause the bullet nose to jam in the feed ramp. Happens only on the first round with new hollow point ammo. I have never had this problem with other mags, but same ammo and gun. In fact, in two very reliable guns.
I will not use them for carry, but target practice, no problem.

 

[wichaka]

Seems the last few years 1911's have become picky with the magazine(s) they will run consistently with.

I've tried many types over the years and have come down to a few things;

1 - Stuffing 8 rounds in a magazine tube designed for 7, can and has presented a few problems; one of which is trying to load a fully loaded magazine of this type when the slide is forward. The magazine spring is already fully compressed, and stuffing it into the gun forces the spring to compress even more, which makes seating the magazine a bit tough.

2 - When doing reliability work I will use original GI magazines, as it takes the magazine out of the problem equation;

3 - Whatever your chosen magazine, run enough different type of rounds thru it to ensure reliable function;

4 - If you're lucky enough to be able to try out different magazines before you buy, so much the better.

I prefer the extended magazine tube type such as the Wilson ETM.

A few years back I was given a magazine from Cerberus Tactical. Even though its made by CheckMate, it is its own design and I find it as reliable as original GI magazines. Now its the only one I use.

 

[GOG]

I prefer 7rd. Tripp Cobra mags. I have used the Tripp rebuild kits on all my other mags and they work beautifully as well.

 

[Pandaz3]

Well I ordered two 8 round magazines from Wilson today, they have the 47D model for sale for $26 which is $5 cheaper than the CMC mag that have already shipped. I will keep in mind the potential problem of try to stuff a fully loaded 8 round mag into a closed bolt gun. If that becomes an issue I will just load them with 7 rounds. I will, when it all arrives have five 8 round mags, one Ruger, and two each from CMC and Wilson.

I don't recall hearing of Tripp, but I only became more seriously interested in things 1911 related, now that I own a 1911.

 

[parallax]

I have found by experience, its best to take your 1911 to the store and try a mag before you buy. A recent purchase ended up finding out the high end mag would not drop free when ejected, and the cheaper mag did. the followers were the same, so I bought the cheaper mag. " if I were to find a mag that I am using, to malfunction, it immediately goes somewhere besides my equipment.

 

[GOG]

Well I ordered two 8 round magazines from Wilson today, they have the 47D model for sale for $26 which is $5 cheaper than the CMC mag that have already shipped. I will keep in mind the potential problem of try to stuff a fully loaded 8 round mag into a closed bolt gun. If that becomes an issue I will just load them with 7 rounds. I will, when it all arrives have five 8 round mags, one Ruger, and two each from CMC and Wilson.

I don't recall hearing of Tripp, but I only became more seriously interested in things 1911 related, now that I own a 1911.

You've heard of STI 1911's? Well, Virgil Tripp is the "T" in STI. He's a very nice guy and if you call, he'll be happy to talk with you.

 

[jrprich]

I just buy the Colt branded SS 8rd mags from Midway for $19.99 ea. So far I have had no failures of any kind.

Keep in mind that most Gun Branded mags are actually made by third party companies to the specs supplied by the gun company..........either CheckMate or MecGar make most mags on the market.

 

[wichaka]

Keep in mind that most Gun Branded mags are actually made by third party companies to the specs supplied by the gun company..........either CheckMate or MecGar make most mags on the market.

...and Metalform

 

[fairlanericky]

Well I ordered two 8 round magazines from Wilson today, they have the 47D model for sale for $26 which is $5 cheaper than the CMC mag that have already shipped. I will keep in mind the potential problem of try to stuff a fully loaded 8 round mag into a closed bolt gun. If that becomes an issue I will just load them with 7 rounds. I will, when it all arrives have five 8 round mags, one Ruger, and two each from CMC and Wilson.

I don't recall hearing of Tripp, but I only became more seriously interested in things 1911 related, now that I own a 1911.

I load 2-3 rounds in the mag and then chamber a round then finish loading 8 into the 47D's I have and have no problem getting it to seat in my Para. ymmv



Ric

 

[Pandaz3]

I load 2-3 rounds in the mag and then chamber a round then finish loading 8 into the 47D's I have and have no problem getting it to seat in my Para. ymmv



Ric

Good idea!

 

[Pandaz3]

I received my two CMC Power + magazines today. I did not pay attention to the warranty when ordering, but a three year warranty is just a small bonus to me. I have not tried them in the gun yet. Happy to have them.

 

[Diamondback]

As a refinement to my prior, i have also considered using different basepads to give a tactile indicator of different magazine features, whether capacity or load (example: 7 or 8 round, hollowpoint or hardball).

 

[Pandaz3]

I still need to find the favorite ammo for mine, then that is all I would carry. I think of hardball as offensive ammo and JHP as defensive. I will carry defensive, too old to remember much of whats what anyway.

 

[2A2Dend]

I had the question "which one"
Time to wake this sleeping thread of knowledge.